US Open champion Jannik Sinner said he was proud to come through the difficulties of his anti-doping controversy to claim his second Grand Slam title.
Sinner came into the season's final Slam under the cloud of a case which saw him allowed to carry on competing despite two positive tests in March.
Some prominent voices in the game thought Sinner was lucky not to be suspended, but he put all that to one side to claim a second Slam title of the year by ending Taylor Fritz's American dream in New York.
The Italian, who beat Britain's Jack Draper in the semi-final, proved too good for Fritz to add the US crown to the title he won in Australia.
"I'm happy how I handled this one. I'm just excited to have this trophy with me," he said.
"It was and it's still a little bit in my mind. It's not that it's gone, but when I'm on court, I try to focus about the game, I try to handle the situation the best possible way.
"Obviously it was very difficult for me to enjoy in certain moments. Also how I behaved or how I walked on the court in certain tournaments before, it was not the same as I used to be, so whoever knows me better, they know that something was wrong.
"But during this tournament, slowly I restarted to feel a little bit more how I am as a person.
"It was not easy, that's for sure, but in the other way I tried to stay focused, which I guess I've done a great job mentally staying there every point I play, and that's it."
Sinner has denied any wrongdoing over his failed tests and was absolved of fault or negligence by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
An independent tribunal accepted Sinner's explanation that clostebol, an anabolic agent that can aid muscle growth, had accidentally entered his system via a product one of his team had used to treat a small wound.
But there was criticism over the speed at which the case was resolved while some high-profile players, such as Nick Kyrgios, questioned whether he should have been banned regardless.
"The general reaction of the players was quite positive, even when things came out," he said. "Then there have been, of course, some different voices, but this is in everything. This is not only in tennis. This is in other sports and different jobs also.
"You can't really do anything about that. That's why you have the people close to you, these are the people who knows what was going on and what I and my team went through because it was not only me; it was the whole situation.
"I just can talk from my side and from my team's perspective, and we are all very proud of this achievement."
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What's coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in September?
- Jasmin Open, Tunisia - WTA 250 (9-15 September)
- Guadalajara Open, Mexico - WTA 500 (9-15 September)
- Korea Open - WTA 500 (16 -22 September - with Emma Raducanu in action)
- Thailand Open - WTA 250 (16 -22 September)
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